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Renewable News, Wind

Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa has received a €175-million order from energy group Endesa.Gamesa will supply the Spanish group with about 100 wind turbines generators, amounting to the installation of 190 megawatts of power.{pagebreak}The order includes "the delivery, start-up and installation of the wind turbines, along with their operation and maintenance," Gamesa said.Gamesa shares have plunged around 25 percent since October 22, when it announced it planned to halt production in two of its 32 factories for seven days in order to adapt production. It had emphasised that the move would not lead to a cancellation of orders.The company last month posted a comparable net profit of €143 million for January to September, a 67 per cent rise over the same time last year.Gamesa shares were showing a gain of 0.91 percent at 13.16 euros on the Madrid stock market at 0930 GMT in a market that was up 0.22 percent.Gamesa had a global market share of over 15 percent of the wind turbine market last year, according to its web site.The company has 32 production centres located in Spain, China and the United States with an international workforce of around 7,000 employees. 

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Misc, Renewable News

The renewables industry in the UK has welcomed new legislation included in the Energy Bill to introduce a feed-in-tariff.In the House of Commons debate MPs also agreed to introduce a Renewable Heat Incentive, although no clear timetable was agreed. Biogas received a boost from the heat incentive clause, as it entitles producers of renewable biogas injected into the gas network to tariff payments.{pagebreak}Little detail, however, was laid down on how these schemes will be implemented, or when.Philip Wolfe, Director General at the REA, said: "The REA is delighted that that government has recognized the advantages of a tariff-style incentive scheme which will open doors for small-scale producers of renewable heat, electricity and bio-methane.However the devil will be in the detail and the coming year will herald key negotiations over the nature and size of the benefit each technology is to receive. The REA looks forward to working with its members and Government, to flesh out the details."The REA and Friends of the Earth have been leading the renewable tariff campaign over the last year, with the backing of 35 other organisations. The Association has thanked all those involved for the support throughout the coalition campaign for a renewable

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Misc, Renewable News

The global growth rates for the PV market are showing excellent health, according to a new study by Bank Sarasin.The report forecasts average global growth rates of 48 per cent for the sector up to 2012, with the global market volume of newly installed PV systems rising from 4 gigawatts in 2008 to 125 gigawatts in 2020.{pagebreak}"Large-scale solar energy systems are playing a key role and are therefore likely to be increasingly financed directly by electricity utilities," says the report. "At the same time the market for solar collectors is likely to remain volatile for the time being.'The report pays particular attention to thin-film technologies, which take less material to produce, and to promising new markets.The expansion plans are impressive: according to Bank Sarasin's estimates, these technologies will be able to increase their market share from 12 per cent at present to 23 per cent in 2012.Although they currently have a comparatively low efficiency in the region of 7-11 per cent, this is likely to be compensated by lower costs and a steeper learning curve. The five most promising companies for the future are First Solar, Sharp, Calyxo (Q-Cells), United Solar Ovonics and Sunfilm.The Middle East as well as North

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Renewable News, Wind

Europe should erect more wind turbines, a new report into energy in the bloc has said. A draft of the EU's Second Strategic Energy Review, says planning will start for a new power grid linking offshore wind turbines in the North Sea and for bolstering imports of liquefied natural gas.{pagebreak}Linking all the North Sea's windfarms by a ring of undersea cables would smooth out any power fluctuations caused by turbulent weather, easing concerns that wind is too variable to be useful."It should become

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Misc, Renewable News

Former US vice-president turned environmental guru Al Gore says Barack Obama should set drastic targets to force the US to switch to renewable energy in an effort to slow down climate change.Gore said that one of Obama's first acts as US president should be to demand a move to 100 per cent renewable energy within 10 years. {pagebreak}"We can do that," he said during the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. "The declaration from President Kennedy that we would land a man on the moon and bring him back safely was thought by many to be impossible."During his presidential campaign, Obama promised to invest $150bn (£96bn) in renewables over 10 years as part of the plan to increase US energy security amid fear of oil shortages, while also cutting carbon emissions. Many hope to see those policies enacted with a far-reaching climate-change.Gore's call for action, made at the summit, one of the hi-tech industry's leading events, included his view that the internet had a vital role to play in the mission for energy; but he stressed that people needed to start using the web for social good.Making an analogy between the march of the internet and the early development of

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Renewable News, Wind

Irish energy company Energia has taken delivery of 61 megawatts of wind power from two major new turbine facilities in counties Cork and Kerry.The company will harness the wind for onward supply to its renewable energy customers throughout Ireland. Energia supplies 25 per cent of the business electricity market on an all-island basis with more than 40,000 customers.{pagebreak}This new development by Energia will remove more than 90,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere and it provides the equivalent power for 36,000 homes. Energia is a leading all-island player in the provision of renewable power. The company also supplies conventionally generated electricity from two major gas fired generating stations in Dublin.Energia's wind farm offtake contracts and asset development pipeline on the island of Ireland comprises more than 550MW of electricity. Energia is investing €550 million in wind farm offtake contracts in fifteen locations across Ireland which will all be completed next year. Last July, it also took delivery of 30 megawatts of new wind power from Donegal, Sligo and Tipperary. Energia is part of Viridian Power and Energy. 

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Misc, Renewable News

The UK government must massively increase its investment in low-carbon technologies if it wants the county to meet its climate change goals, according to business leaders.In a report, the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) argues that there is a "lack of ambition in the UK" for the new technology and that an increased focus is crucial for the country to reduce carbon emissions by the target of 80 per cent by 2050. {pagebreak}"It will take a coordinated effort from government and business to ensure the UK is ready to exploit the potential of a low-carbon economy," said Neil Bentley, business environment director at the CBI.The government spends less than £250m annually on low-carbon energy research. The CBI argues that this figure should be closer to the defence budget of £2.6bn."With increasing globalisation, the UK has an opportunity to enter and lead in new markets estimated at $1 trillion. However, there is currently a general lack of ambition and vision on how to achieve this. The UK needs to act now if it is to be a low-carbon leader."The CBI's report recommends that government departments responsible for science and innovation should work closer together with those responsible for climate change and

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Renewable News, Solar

A new line of PV products from Rohm and Haas is set to help increase solar cell efficiency across Europe.Enlight photovoltaic products use innovative materials to improve the efficiency of solar cells, enhancing their ability to convert the sun's light into electrical energy. The company's technology also helps solar cell manufacturers more quickly produce their products. {pagebreak}Bob Ferguson, vice president and business unit director in Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials said: "Rohm and Haas entered the photovoltaic market in 2006 with unique technology that improves cell efficiency and increases manufacturing yield."Since then, we've worked with many leading photovoltaic companies to enhance and broaden our product portfolio. When you combine strong customer support, our passion for technical excellence, and the introduction of our newest Enlight products, we're excited about what we can offer - and the material difference we can make - to the renewable energy industry."Enlight product solutions include:• Enlight SilverPlate 620 for PV metallization offers an improved Light Induced Plating (LIP) solution over our first generation product. This new technology can increase cell efficiencies by as much as 0.6% compared to standard paste processes. • Enlight JetResist 1310 for PV imaging is a hot melt ink that

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Renewable News, Wind

British wind power experts have been sharing their expertise with Taiwanese counterparts at a seminar in Taipei held by the British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO).Led by Richard Brooks, head of Business Development of the Renewable Deployment Team of Britain's Department of Energy and Climate Change, a U.K. delegation comprised of 16 experts from nine companies and three universities delivered presentations at the seminar about U.K. expertise in the offshore wind power sector. {pagebreak}Speaking at the opening ceremony of the seminar, BTCO Director Michael Reilly said the seminar was very timely, because as the world faces a major economic slowdown and the recent collapse of oil prices, some experts and politicians around the world have suggested that this is a time to go slowly in efforts to develop a low-carbon future."Acting now will place us all in a better position when the world economy picks up speed once again. Investing now in renewable energy projects will help counter the impact of the slowdown, " Reilly said."And, most of all, increasing the use of renewable energy now will improve energy security in the years ahead," he added.According to Reilly, the U.K. became in 2008 the number one in the world for

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Misc, Renewable News

The EU Commissioner for Energy has said that its proposed climate and energy legislative package should be moved forward despite the current global financial crisis.Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Energy, told attendees at the Cercle Royal Gaulois energy conference in Brussels that it is ‘completely irresponsible' for politicians to postpone adopting the package since problems associated with unchecked climate change will intensify with each passing year. {pagebreak}"The global challenge is there and we should react to it," he told the summit which covered the economy, energy supply and the environment.Piebalgs said the legislative package would also benefit Europe because it would lessen its dependence on imported fuels as well as promoting renewable energies, nuclear power and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). He added that the package would result in challenges for some sectors and individuals but new jobs would also be created.The summit, called Defining Europe's Energy Strategy, provided diverse and passionate views on international cooperation, trade policies, greenhouse gases, economic development, oil prices, coal, sustainability, wind power and the emerging middle class in China and India.One of the three sessions was marked by differing opinions from Chris Davies, MEP and Rapporteur on the CCS Directive, who believes carbon capture

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